PSS J1058+1245 is a quasar, which is one of the most luminous types of objects in the universe. A quasar is a supermassive black hole at the centre of a galaxy, surrounded by a disk of gas and dust spiralling inward under intense gravity. As this material heats to extreme temperatures, it releases enormous amounts of energy across the electromagnetic spectrum, making quasars shine with extraordinary brilliance.

PSS J1058+1245 is one of the high-redshift quasars discovered in the Palomar Sky Survey, and is part of a population of extremely distant objects powered by rapidly accreting supermassive black holes.

Unlike quasar APM 08279+5255, PSS J1058+1245 isn’t boosted by gravitational lensing from a foreground galaxy. Instead, the light detected in my image comes directly from the quasar itself, making it a more “pure” example of a distant active galactic nucleus, visible only because of its intrinsic power.

The light recorded in my image has been travelling for roughly 11–12 billion years. Because the Universe has continued expanding during that time, the quasar is now around 25 billion light-years away in present-day distance. So, we’re observing it as it appeared when the Universe was only about 1.5–2 billion years old (roughly 10–15% of its current age).